IT Services Marketing Strategy Made Simple

There are significant differences in marketing strategies for MSPs and technology services when compared to other industries. IT service firms are seen by their clients as being innovative and cutting-edge. Moreover, it’s important always to be presented as forward-thinking and as a business that embraces new ideas. Ultimately, in the IT services industry, MSPs should be perceived as innovative in every aspect of their business. The first-touch to a new prospect comes from the MSP marketing strategy. Let’s cover the areas of digital marketing for MSPs that we feel are most important.

​SEO as an IT Services Marketing Strategy

​Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an always-on marketing channel that every MSP should leverage. The benefits of SEO are numerous and impactful. The main advantage of SEO is an increase in traffic to the website. Often we talk about starting with the end in mind. That’s a great approach to SEO. The “end” is the acquisition of a new client through the website. Before we can get a new customer through a web page, we first need a compelling call-to-action on that page. Potential customers see that call to action when target traffic is attracted to the website. We get targeted traffic using SEO as a method to get the website content indexed high in search engine rankings.

​See how we reverse the process by keeping the end in mind? Put simply; the SEO strategy involves creating high-quality, educational content that your prospects are searching for through Google and other search engines. Then, doing all the ethical things that help rank that content to where your potential clients will find it. Once they are viewing the content, they are presented with important calls-to-action to start the process of converting them into actual customers.

A great place to start for any MSP looking to up their marketing game would be our eBook, “7 managed IT services blog ideas that will make your search rankings skyrocket​“. In the eBook, we present seven blog topics that your prospects are searching. Write about these subjects on your website, and you will quickly start to get more traffic. Blogging on your website is an important part of any IT services marketing strategy.

Search Engine Marketing can be very effective as an MSP Marketing Strategy

​It’s important to understand the difference between SEO and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for Managed IT Service companies. SEO, mentioned above, is an always-on marketing channel, that differs from SEM, which is only presented to prospects as long as there is the budget for clicks.

​Now, this should not deter any MSP from engaging in SEM. Why? Because SEM provides instant results. Your content can be in front of prospective clients within hours of developing a campaign.

More compelling is the ability to target your customers in a way that is simply not possible with SEO. Within your campaign, you can select specific characteristics and traits to narrow the focus on who sees your ads. This helps ensure that your click budget is always spent on your preferred prospects.

Email campaigns provide the ultimate control

With SEO and SEM, you place trust in that your content is being shown to a targeted audience. When email marketing is introduced into an IT Services marketing strategy, a new level of control presents itself. But how?

​Well, when you create an email list, you can filter that list and refine it into a hyper-targeted list of prospects, people who have demonstrated a desire to work with you in some capacity. Emailing to this audience has the potential to create much higher levels of engagement and conversion. But your email messaging has to be well thought out. That’s critical.

Organic Social Media as an MSP Marketing Strategy

The number of social channels on the internet is staggering and can, at times be overwhelming when considering how to include social media in an IT services marketing strategy.
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​Our recommendation is simple. Figure out what channels your clients are using and develop a significant presence there. For MSP and Managed IT Service firms, this will be LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Start there.

​Begin by sharing your content through these channels to attract potential prospects to your website and send strong social signals to the search engines, who will reward you with higher rankings.

​Use social media to demonstrate your abilities and expertise. Your channels will be one of the first stops a prospect makes when learning about your organization.

​IT Marketing Success

​MSP digital marketing doesn’t need to be unnecessarily complicated. By following a simple methodology, your company’s website will attract more targeted visitors, and you can work to convert those visitors into customers.

​What efforts do you have in your IT Services Marketing Strategy? We’d love to hear your perspective on digital marketing for MSPs.